


Scylla

by Mythoriel



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, I Love You, I know, Tentacle Sex, Tentacles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-10-09 19:48:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 15,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17413163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mythoriel/pseuds/Mythoriel
Summary: AU, Ben DOESN’T forget to continue to rescue VKs after the first movie. We’ll say Evie approached him for the next semester with a list. Kids start getting their notices and Scylla writes a letter to King Ben, admonishing him for only considering those who were friends with Evie. Mal is on track for her nervous breakdown in movie 2.





	1. Chapter 1

King Ben finds Evie and Dopey in the library, giggling and studying. “Can I have a quick word?” he asked her. 

“Sure.” She hopped up and they stepped aside. “Is it about the next group of VKs? Did they say yes?”

“Yeah, most have agreed to come, but actually I got a letter from someone who wasn’t on your list. What can you tell me about Scylla?”

Evie grimaced. “Of course she’d write a letter. She’s Uma’s bookworm older sister.”

“Can I ask why you didn’t put her on the list?”

“I can’t invite everyone in the first round. You said you were going to do this in stages, you know? I’m sure I’d get to her eventually. And you wanted to help those who needed it the most. I stand by my list.”

“She showed initiative in writing this. She’s the only one I know to want to come here. Is there any reason I shouldn’t let her?”

“She’s a drag? A super wet blanket. All she’d do was stay in the basement and study. I don’t even know why. We didn’t even have that many books over there.”

“I’m not hearing a reason to keep her out. I’m adding her to the list.”

Evie pouted until he walked away, then broke into a grin. “This is going to be hilarious.”


	2. Chapter 2

On Registration Day for the second semester, the grounds were filled with themed and decorated limosines from all the kingdoms, delivering their royal children for school, as well as the classic black limosines sent by Auradon to pick up the selected children from the Isle of the Lost.

King Ben and Mal stood at the stairs. She’d talked him out of the band but he insisted on greeting the newcomers. “Last time there were four. Now there’s twenty. You can’t follow the same routine.”

“I know. I enlisted more people to help with the tour.” He pointed at the welcoming committee, which included Evie and Dopey. 

“That makes sense,” Mal said. “Dizzy was Evie’s favorite.”

“And there’s twenty one.”

“Evie’s list had twenty.”

“I added Scylla. She wrote and asked to be considered.”

Mal laughed heartily, drawing a look from Ben.

“I’m sorry. She’s just… I don’t think she’s what you’re looking for.”

“I was impressed by her letter and I wanted to greet her personally.” The black limos were pulling up. “Help point her out to me.”

“Oh, I don’t think you can miss her.”

The three limos lined up and the drivers exited to open the doors. The third limo was opened from the inside and six ragged, dirty children tumbled out of the vehicle, gagging and throwing themselves on the ground. 

Mal pressed her lips together. “Yup.”

“What…” Ben started down the steps to see if he could assist them when Scylla exited. Two tentacles stretched out to the ground and pulled, while two others reached up and held her weight from the door frame. The light glittered from her short white, punk hair style, and her skin was sky-blue. Her shoulders were exposed, her only clothing a black corset, which blended in with her six black and blue tentacles. There was a popping sound as she released the car and lowered herself to the ground. Her mantle spread five feet, and she stood less than four feet tall.

She gave the retching children a disapproving look and sprayed her mantle with a bottle filled with a green/brown liquid.

The other limos were emptying more quietly and the drivers were unloading the luggage. Ben waved for everyone to gather around and gave his welcome speech. Scylla pulled herself to the front of the group so she could see. Ben waved the welcoming committee over and they took over as guides. He and Mal descended the stairs and he tried to approach Scylla and accidentally stepped on a tentacle. 

“Ouch!” She lifted her torso and twisted to see behind her.

Ben was horrified. “I’m so sorry. I never meant to- I’m Ben. I wanted to meet you. I wanted to tell you I was very impressed with your letter. And that starting next semester, I’ll be more open minded to who is brought over. It was a little late to add to the invitations. But I made an exception for you. As you can see.”

Scylla moved her mantle around to untwist and reached out her hand to him. He carefully stepped close and reached out to shake her hand. “Thank you for this opportunity.” She turned to Mal. “Mal.”

“Bookworm.”

Scylla blinked slowly, acknowledging the infantile remark. “I’ll be going, now. Who do I talk to about accommodations?”

“Yes! Of course. I did not know you’d be… needing accommodations. We’ll need to make changes to your dorm room. Fairy Godmother!” He waved her over.

“Yes, Your Highness- oh my!”

Mal made a pretense at hiding her amusement at the reactions Scylla evoked.

“Scylla is going to need accommodations.”

“I most certainly say she will!”

“Actually,” Scylla interrupted. “That was not what I meant. I understand the dorms are separated by royal status? I’d like to be enrolled as a Royal.”

“I’m sorry, my dear, but only people with Royal lineage can be enrolled as Royal. And-”

Mal finished for her. “Villains don’t have Royal status. I would have thought you knew that.”

Scylla looked at both of them before addressing the Fairy Godmother. “I’d like you to test me before making that judgement.”

“Sweetheart, there’s no point-”

“Test me.” Scylla’s voice hardened to match her eyes.

Ben spread his arms and stepped in to soothe the matter. “In light of her situation, I think I can make an allowance for her to be set up in the Royal suites.”

“I don’t want any special treatment. I want this fairy to test my bloodline and I want to be treated accordingly.”

Fairy Godmother turned to Ben. “There’s no point-”

“Is there a test?” he asked.

“It requires magic and my wand is in the Museum.”

“Would you be comfortable if we went to the Museum for the test? That way it’ll be unlocked for just a minute and put right back.”

“As you command.” Fairy Godmother said tersely and headed for the limos. The third driver waved her away and the second opened the door.

“Can I come?” Mal asked.

“I don’t see why not.”

“I want to see the look on her face when it hits her that she’s just a VK like the rest of us.”

Ben sighed and joined them in the limo. 

Every few moments Scylla would spray a dry spot. 

Ben cleared his throat. “Is that, is that some kind of moisturizer?” He pointed to the sludge inside the bottle. 

Scylla glanced at it and said, “It’s just tap water from home.”

“Oh, Zeus!” Ben shuddered and then snatched it away.

“Hey!”

He unscrewed the spray top and attached it to a water bottle he pulled from the refreshments. He sprayed it a few times into a bar towel to clear the hose and handed it back. “Better?”

She sprayed herself and nodded. “Thank you.” She gave him a thoughtful look when she didn’t think anyone was looking.

It was a short trip and they soon arrived at the Museum. Ben told the guard they would be unlocking the wand briefly and looked around the lobby. “Is there a wheel chair we could borrow?”

Scylla shook her head and went to the stairs. “Which floor?”

“Three, madam.” The guard said as he fetched the keys.

Scylla climbed onto the railing and reached up for the next floor while the others started up the stairs. She climbed straight up while the others followed the spiral. 

“Is that- oh, my.” Fairy Godmother shielded her eyes. “I just saw a blue vulva.”

Ben looked back but by then she was up and onto the third floor and waiting for them. Mal elbowed him in the ribs.

The guard lowered the alarm system and Fairy Godmother took the wand. “And this is the last I want to hear on the matter, understood?”

Scylla nodded. 

“Bibbity boppity boo, is this girl’s blood blue?”

Scylla’s aura flashed white and then settled into an unmistakably dark blue. Mal pushed forward. “How can that be? Do me!”

Fairy Godmother came out of her shock and decided to test it on the others. Mal’s aura settled into a swirling black, the guard’s a murky brown, and King Ben’s into a baby blue.

“What does that mean?” Mal asked.

“Well, technically Queen Belle is not of royal blood. So while His Highness is royal, he’s not from royal blood on both sides.”

“And she is?”

The aura was starting to fade, but it was still darker than Ben’s.

“This was the final word in the matter, right?” Scylla said.

Fairy Godmother did not like her tone. “There will be an investigation. You will be put in the Royal suites for now, but there are differences between you and the other royalty. They have the advantage of family position and funding. They are allowed and able to redecorate their rooms. You are allowed, but certainly not able. If you find you would be more comfortable with others of your station, let me know and I’ll have you moved immediately.”

“Understood.”

Ben stopped the Fairy Godmother from returning the wand. “Is there something you could do about her… appearance?”

“I could.” Fairy Godmother turned back to Scylla. “I could make you human.”

“Don’t you dare.” Scylla’s eyes flashed in anger and she swung herself back down the stairs before the Fairy Godmother could spell her. Ben ran down the staircase after her, circling her as he tried to catch up.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insult you. I just thought it would make things easier.”

“For me? Or for you?” They faced each other in the lobby. “Special accommodations, a wheelchair, a human body… I didn’t ask you for any of that. I like myself the way I am. Exactly as I am. If you have a problem with my tentacles, or feel bad because you have to look down on me, don’t.”

“I’m sorry. Most people want to fit in. I was trying to be helpful.”

“I have heard that about you.” The others were joining them. “That is a great quality in a person.”

“Thank you.”

“But it’s a hard quality in a king. Good luck with that.”

It was a quiet ride back to the Academy. Fairy Godmother trying to figure out how a VK from the Isle had two legitimately royal parents, Ben trying to decipher how being a helpful person was bad for a king, and Mal trying to figure out exactly what Ben’s interest in Scylla was. Was he just being helpful? Kindness was one of his greatest personality traits. He was always looking out for the underdog. But was there something more? She decided she wanted to read this letter. Maybe a spell had been cast on it.


	3. Chapter 3

Scylla was put in the Royal suites, to the dismay of the other royals. They had started to come around to the VKs, at least in that they felt better looking down on them for their behavior and fashion than on the children of their parent’s sidekicks. But there had always been a bit of separation in the dorms. 

Scylla also demanded placement tests so she could advance and take upper classmen classes. She aced every preliminary and basic course and was allowed to chose her schedule. Ben was surprised to see her in his morning “Auradon Laws 201” class and again in “Advanced Ettiquette”.

That afternoon he knocked on her dorm door. It took a long minute for her to answer and her face was a mixture of surprise and annoyance.

“I just wanted to apologize for the other day.” He gestured to the hallway and she stepped out to see a crowd of plumbers and craftsmen. “If you accept my apology, let me have an enlarged salt water bath installed for you.”

Scylla gave a deep sigh but looked at the tile with longing. “Yes, I accept your apology and I thank you for the bath.”

Ben grinned. “Awesome. They’re actually going to be a few hours, would you mind taking a walk with me while they work?”

“How can I say no?”

He led her to a picnic table on the grounds. The sky was starting to grow dark and the sun was sinking. She climbed onto the bench and leaned back on the table to watch the sunset. Ben sat down next to her. “How was your first day?”

“Good. There are some things you can’t learn on the Isle.”

“I was actually surprised to see you in some of my classes. Only heirs or sidekicks sign up for the ruling courses.”

“I am going to tell you something and it’s going to change your opinion of me.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“You might hate me more than you hate a villain, in fact.”

“Really?”

“I want to be a lawyer.”

Ben nodded. “That explains the classes. So why would you want to be a lawyer?”

“My mom. The stories focus on her magic or her little cheat with Cousin Ariel, but she was really strict on her rules. She didn’t have to prey on the unfortunate, they came to her willingly. She had powerful magic and they wanted her help. She just didn’t care for gold or jewels. She got bored and she became cruel and noticed the desperate don’t read contracts. Or they ignored the consequences, even if she read it to them. They always signed. And her magic was able to hold up the consequences.”

“Do you want to pick up where she left off?”

“Magic is forbidden, thanks to your father. One decree and poof! All the lands need to obey. People with magical ability need to stifle their natural gifts or be sent to the Isle. Buildings need to be allowed to burn because to use magic to put out the fire is against the law. Loved ones need to suffer painful, terrible illnesses because healing is as evil as cursing.” Scylla trailed off and took a breath. “I’m sorry. I want to be a lawyer because in kingdoms, rulers can say anything is a law without thinking of the consequences, and each kingdom has a different set of rules. What happens if a Sherwood farmer is killed by a Hun on Camelot lands? Who seeks justice and from where? These conflicting laws cause a lot of cracks that the poor can fall into. My mother preyed on the unfortunate to benefit herself. I plan to prey on the fortunate to benefit the desperate.”

“I’d hate to think that I was one of the rulers you talked about.”

“How much thought did you put into your decree about the Villain Kids? A day? A week?”

“It had been on my mind for a while.”

“Do you have a plan for your rehabilitation? Or are you just going to gradually take everyone under the age of 30 off that island? At what age are you going to start tearing families apart? When all the teenagers are gone, will you start taking children, infants? Will you wait for them to be used to green drinking water and no healthcare before bringing them to this school? You want to help. You want to make our lives better. But that’s not just by taking us away from our parents and that prison.”

“I’d heard that the Villains weren’t that great as parents.”

“Maybe not, but family is still family. Villains are still capable of love. And heroes are capable of cruelty.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve always wondered why your father revived the dead villains. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful, but a dead villain seems safer than an imprisoned one. Was he worried someone else would revive them? Or did he hate Gaston so much that death seemed to be a mercy? Does he sleep better knowing his villain is alive and suffering in squalor rather than resting in death?”

“My father isn’t cruel. He-”

“It’s okay. I’m just wondering out loud. Do you know why he brought them back to life?”

“He doesn’t talk about it. He- it’s just skipped over in the story of how he wanted to make the world safe.”

“And did he? He locked up everyone with magical talent, those who wouldn’t obey him at least, but is the world safe? Are people not polluting in their efforts to create electronics and plastics? Do the poor have access to the same healthcare as royalty or do they die young and suffering? Do your citizens leave their doors unlocked at night? Do caravans not hire guards through the dark forests? Were you raised without protection every day of your life?”

“I had guards. So these are the things you think about on the Isle?”

“The unfairness of life? Not much else to do when you’re a cephalopod. The Isle isn’t exactly accessible.”

“Mal and Evie mentioned you spent a lot of time in the basement.”

“Our basement is flooded. Mom and I were most comfortable down there.”

“Can’t be easy to make friends like that. But you’re proving yourself capable out here. Could we be friends?”

“Sure.” They shook on it and he noticed her bracelets. 

“Did you make those yourself?” 

“Yeah. Nothing difficult. Just drill a hole in a shell and voila! Instant jewelry.”

“They’re nice. If lawyering doesn’t work out, you could probably get into the jewelry business.”

“Want one?” She took off a single shell rope bracelet and held it out.

Ben wanted to trust it was a gesture of friendship. But as he’d learned from Mal, even Villain Kids have trouble letting go of their instincts. He tried to think of what harm a single shell could do and decided it was worth the possible consequences. He just needed to show her that he was worth trusting. He took the bracelet and put it on with a laugh. “What do you think?”

“Looks good.”

“Did you inherit any magic from your mother?”

“How would I know? I grew up in a world without magic.”

“That is an excellent point.” Ben was trying to remember from the stories if Ursula used any magical books that he should worry about.

“Do you think they’re done?”

“Oh, no. But we can head to dinner. Mal is going to meet me at the cafeteria, do you mind eating with her?”

“I’m not the one with a problem.” They started toward the cafeteria, Ben slowing to Scylla’s pace.

“What is it between you two?”

“On the Isle, you’re either a villain or a sidekick. The Original Villains, the ones sent to the Isle, carved out their territories or made alliances and tried to make the best of a bad situation. Most had relied on magic and without it, they didn’t have options. But they had their memories and their stories and so Mal and Evie and the principal kids were raised thinking they had something to prove. They tried to form gangs but they were just punks. They had some power in their own way. To them, you were either in a gang or a loser. I didn’t participate, so I was a loser. My sister Uma took it very seriously. She has human form and is one of Mal’s arch nemeses. But it’s just kids running around bullying other kids.”

“Why do you keep calling Mal and Evie “kids”?” Aren’t you all the same age?”

“It took three years for your father to finish reviving and imprisoning the villains. So yes, Mal and Evie are sixteen. I’m nineteen. My mother was one of the first to be revived, and she was pregnant with me when she died.”

“And your father must be royal. Is it Triton?”

“No. That would be incest and not even Mom was willing to stoop that low.”

“Incest?”

“Nevermind. Actually, I’m not that hungry. I think I’ll finish waiting in the library. Good night.”

“I- sorry.” He said to her back. “Good night.” He hadn’t gotten around to what he’d wanted to ask her. 


	4. Chapter 4

He joined Mal in the cafeteria and was playing with his bracelet. “Hey, Mal?”

“Yes, Benny-boo?” She fluttered her eyes and took another bite of macaroni.

“Are there any spells that involve shells?”

“Not specifically. But plenty need a token or an object. A rock or a ring or a jewel… a shell would work.”

“What kinds of spells are like that?”

“Why? Where did you get that bracelet?”

“Scylla gave it to me. I think she’s testing me like you tested me when you first got here.”

“If Scylla gave that to you, throw it away!”

“What could she do?”

“She could spy on you, she could listen to your conversations, she could use it as a beacon to find you, she could do anything!”

“None of those sound too bad.”

“You’re the King. You have private council meetings.”

“I’ll take it off for those. But if she spies on me and she doesn’t hear anything bad, then she’ll trust me. I know you have to make some allowances for ...people from the Isle.”

“It’s okay to call us VKs. Let me look at it.”

He held out his wrist and Mal took his hand in hers and stared at the shell, her eyes glowing green. She sighed and sat back. “Just because it’s not enchanted now doesn’t mean she won’t enchant it later. She could have a twin shell somewhere that she links to it. Just be careful, will you? Why do you want her trust, anyway? She’s just a loser.”

“Why? Because she wasn’t running around the Isle in a gang?”

“Kind of. What’s up with you?” She started to say more but then she realized that he was defending Scylla the way he’d defended her when he was in love. “You know what? I think you’re right. I just never got to know her back when we were both on the Isle. I should probably give her another chance. She did write that awesome letter. You know? I don’t think I ever got the chance to read that. Do you mind?”

“It’s in my office. I don’t mind if you read it. Tomorrow?”

“It’s a date.”


	5. Chapter 5

But Ben got caught up in some royal business and had to skip some classes. There was a knock and he called out, “Come in.” He heard the door open and close but when he looked up, he didn’t see anyone. “Losing my mind,” he said out loud. 

“It happens to the best of us.”

Ben yelped in surprise and bolted up out of his chair. He scanned the room and saw Scylla beside his desk. “I did not see you come in.”

“That’s me, sneaky little octopus girl.”

“What can I help you with?”

She smirked briefly and then opened her bag to pull out a few notebooks. “I thought you’d want to copy my notes from class. I need them back by dinner, though.”

“Oh, yeah. Sure, thanks.” He tried to summon the courage to ask, but wimped out. “So did you get a chance to try out the salt bath last night?”

Mal was in the doorway. “What salt bath?”

Scylla smiled warmly at Mal. “Your boyfriend bought me a gorgeous hot tub for my suite. I haven’t had a chance to try it yet, but I’m looking forward to slipping into that hot water and just soaking.”

“Be careful you don’t cook yourself. Have you had calamari?”

“Hey, guys. Mal, I thought you were going to be cool.”

“That was before I found out my boyfriend is buying strange women expensive gifts.”

“We’re friends, that’s all.”

“You just met her. And you bought her a jacuzzi?”

Ben looked to Scylla for help but she shook her head, amused. “I’ll see you later when you drop off my notes. And Mal,” Scylla paused. “You’re right to worry. We all know how Ben likes girls from the Isle. He should be getting bored of you soon, right?”

Her words struck too close to Mal’s fears for her to come up with some last words. Alone, she turned to Ben. “A jacuzzi?”

“I don’t know what you’re thinking but it’s not like that. I was so rude to her the other day and the bath in her suite was too small and salt is so corrosive she’d ruin the pipes if she tried to be comfortable and she doesn’t have any money so I thought it’d make a good gift for an apology.”

“You aren’t supposed to know the size of her bath or what she does to be comfortable. You aren’t supposed to care.”

“I care. I care about everyone. I’m king. I have a whole kingdom to care for.”

“So why are you spending so much attention on her? Ben, I need to know. What was in that letter?”

Ben pulled it out of his desk drawer and handed it to her. The creases were soft from reading it over and over. Mal was expecting some confession of love from a distance or some pity story. Instead she read a concise and well thought out admonishment for Ben’s second semester selections for the VK rehabilitation program. She didn’t even ask to be invited. She told him his oversight and told him to do better. 

“What is this?” Mal asked. “This is what has you head over heels for her? She scolded you.”

“I’m not in love with her, Mal. What I saw in that letter was someone who understood. But someone willing to keep me accountable. I have a kingdom of people who love me or fear me and will say what I want to hear, but that’s not helpful. My parents have expectations for me but it comes from what they want me to do. She saw what I wanted to do and told me to do better. I’ve grown up with these princes and princesses but most of them only think about what their position means for their happiness. They don’t understand the responsibility yet. And I wanted a friend who understood.”

“I don’t understand?” Mal’s eyes filled with tears and Ben walked around his desk to her and wiped the tears from her cheeks.

“You’re learning. I love you, but I need friends too. That’s all she is. If Evie needed something, and you could give it to her, would you?”

“Of course.”

“That’s all this was. I want to talk sports with Chad and Jay, I want to talk politics and law with Scylla, and I want to talk about our future with you.”

Mal smiled. “I think I can handle that.”

“Are we okay?”

She nodded. “We’re okay.”

He kissed her hair and held her close.


	6. Chapter 6

Scylla opened her door that evening to find Mal leaning in the hallway, reading her notebooks. “Ben said you wanted these before dinner.”

“Girlfriend and courier. Who could ask for more?”

“Ben wants to be your friend. Nothing more.”

“Sounds like a lot to me. Can you handle that?”

“What was all that talk earlier, then? Just trying to get under my skin?”

“I was tired of taking the high road with you.”

“Well it sounds like we’re going to be around each other a lot so we need to bury the hatchet.”

“I’m waiting.”

Mal sighed and handed over the notebooks. “Ben needs a geek friend to talk geek stuff with and I guess I’m okay with that.”

“You look like you’re still jealous. If you want to be with him, why don’t you sign up for some of these classes, too? A future queen should understand government and politics. It’s not too late and then you can talk geek too.”

Mal gagged. “Yeah, right. See you later, geek.”

Scylla closed the door. “I guess that’s still better than loser.”

 

* * *

 

 

“What is she doing now?” Evie asked.

“Ugh! Nothing! Just studying like a geek. It’s only been a couple days, how much does she have to even study?”

“And where did you get the camera?”

“I borrowed it.” Mal adjusted her laptop screen. “I actually got the spying idea from her.”

“I don’t think her idea about the classes was terrible, either.”

“Ew, gross! Princess classes?”

“I mean, you’re dating a king. If you expect to be more in his life, you need to be able to do the things he does. Why do you think he goes to the fancy dinners alone? You look amazing, but your curtsy is all over the place and you don’t know your fish fork from your salad fork.”

“So?”

“If you learn how to do some of those things, you can spend more time with Ben. Play footsie during council meetings. Help him welcome diplomats. Show him you want to be involved in his life so that when he starts thinking about marriage, he sees you by his side.”

“I guess I could try. What’s the worse that could happen?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At this point, we have the events from Descendants 2, minus the forgetting to invite VKs.  
> Uma wasn’t in the second wave, so she’s still pissed about being left behind.


	7. Chapter 7

The morning after Cotillion, the ship docked and the party-weary passengers disembarked. Mal fell asleep on Ben’s shoulder on the ride home and awoke with a sleepy, contented smile when they arrived. 

“That was a long night, eh? Ready to get some sleep in your own bed?” Ben asked. They climbed out and everyone was stretching and rubbing their eyes. 

“Um. I mean, yes. In my own bed. By myself. Like always.” Mal was worried when Ben might want to take the relationship further. She’d dragged her feet on their first kiss until she was sure it was love, but all night Ben had been stealing kisses and she could feel his heat growing with each one. 

Ben didn’t notice her awkwardness and smiled. 

“And you?”

Ben pulled out his phone and said “I think I’ll see if Scylla’s up. Tell her what she missed. Do you think she could have talked Uma into coming back with us?”

Mal shook her head. “If you think me and Uma are on bad terms, you have no idea what it’s like to have sisters.”

“Still. I have a lot of news.” He kissed her cheek and headed for the Royal dorm. 

“True love. True love,” Mal repeated to herself. She’d just saved Ben, twice, and they’d proved their love to each other that very night, but she couldn’t help but worry about Scylla. Ben had been so busy lately, ruling and planning the Cotillion, and encouraging Mal’s participation, and helping her with classes, so he hadn’t actually seen Scylla in a while. 

The recent adventure with her sister had reminded him and when he’d been rescued by True Love’s Kiss, he’d turned to share his elation with his friend, and had only seen Mal’s friends and his old classmates.

He knocked on her door, while others were returning to their rooms. He smiled at a few ladies who passed him in the hall. “Come in!” 

“Scylla? It’s me, Ben. We missed you tonight.” He stood in her sitting room and waited.

“I doubt that.” Scylla came out of her bedroom, her hair tousled and her eyes puffy from sleep. “Why are you wet?”

“Oh, yeah.” He said, looking down at himself. “I have had the craziest weekend.”

“Put your clothes in front of the heater and get in the tub. I can’t have the King die of pneumonia in my rooms.”

Ben obeyed, down to his boxers, while she filled the tub. “Do you like it?”

“It is very well designed.” She climbed in after him. “So tell me about your exciting weekend.”

It was hard for her to keep her commentary to herself as he talked about his troubles with Mal and it was especially hard to restrain herself when he told her about being kidnapped by her sister on the Isle. But she had to laugh when he told her about that night and how Uma bewitched him and turned into a giant half squid.

“And you’re sure she had eight tentacles?” Ben nodded, not sure why Scylla was laughing so hard. “Count them!” She said, pointing at her lower body.

“Six?”

“Mom and I have eight limbs. Six tentacles and two arms. And Uma couldn’t even do that right! A squid! How embarrassing!”

“It was actually a little terrifying. She tried to sink the ship and she and Mal were fighting in the water. I almost drowned.”

“You look fine to me. Stop milking it. Where’s Uma now?”

“Last I saw, she was going back to the Isle.”

“You’re an idiot if you think she went back. How would she get past the barrier? Why would she just give up and go home when being free in Auradon is her greatest desire? She is somewhere out there, trying to figure out how to return to her proper shape and scheming.”

“I’m going to send her a proper invitation to next semester. Would her pride allow her to accept it?”

“No. Everyone on the Isle could call her an idiot for refusing, but that would only make her dig her heels in more. She’s always been too prideful and headstrong for her own good.”

“What if I begged? I could do that for her.”

“She doesn’t deserve your pity. The trouble is that she most likely wouldn’t believe you were being sincere, no matter your performance, and would reject it on principle. From what you’ve told me, she’s not willing to accept going to school on probation. She wants freedom and power. If she had that, she could choose to come on her own.”

“I can grant her freedom, but it would be hard to get support if I give it to a girl who threatened me and my peers and withhold it from others who have proven themselves.”

“So pardon everyone on the Isle. Confiscate all the magical items and lock them up, double, triple the guards and force them to keep living without their powers.”

“Everyone? Even the Villains?”

“Most of them paid for their crimes with their lives already. And twenty years on the Isle isn’t the easiest punishment. It could be said they’ve paid their debt.”

“Are you saying that?”

“I’m not the king. It doesn’t matter what I say.”

“I value your opinion.”

“Discuss it with your councillors.”

He nodded and checked his hands. They were starting to prune and he was feeling warm throughout. But he didn’t want to leave just yet. “When we first met, you said that being helpful was a bad trait for a king. I’ve tried to figure out what you meant, but it doesn’t make sense to me. What did you mean by it?”

“Being helpful and kind is great for a person, and it’s good for a king, but it’s going to make things harder for you. That’s what I meant.”

Ben shook his head. “Shouldn’t it make it easier? If I follow my heart, won’t it lead me to the best decisions?”

“Life isn’t about what’s right or wrong. It isn’t black and white. It’s about making the best choice you can with the information you have and dealing with the consequences.” She could see he still didn’t understand. “How can you be sixteen and sitting on the throne and still not understand what it means to rule!” She leaned forward. “Let’s say you have a very rainy spring and a dam breaks and floods a valley. What do you do?”

“I have the dam repaired and built stronger and relocate the families until the waters are gone and help them rebuild their farms.”

“You didn’t budget for broken dams and housing families and building farms. Where do you get the money?”

“I can ask for donations.”

“You don’t raise enough.”

Ben sighed, not liking her restrictions, how does she know he wouldn’t raise enough, but he decided to try to finish the exercise. “I raise taxes until the deficit is met.”

“What do you tax? How much do you raise it? The farmers lost their crops, even after the water is gone and their homes are rebuilt, they don’t have anything to plant, to harvest, to eat, to sell, or to plant the year after. How will they survive?”

“We can loan them the money.”

“How much interest?”

“Little to none. They’re poor.”

“And the farmer who burns his house down to rebuild it with an interest-free loan?”

“Obviously not him.”

“Who will you train and send to investigate whether a farmer requesting a loan burned his house down or if a struggling community sabotaged a dam to reap the king’s kindness? And those who have to carry the burden of higher taxes every time a tragedy strikes? The miller who loses his livelihood because he couldn’t pay his debts and his taxes?”

“This is all made up, though. This isn’t real.”

“It could be. And for every person you help, you hurt two you don’t realize. And those people will come to you, crying and dirty and starving and ask you why? Why did you punish them? Why didn’t you protect them? And what will your kind heart decide?”

“I can’t be heartless or cold. I think my kindness is a strength.”

“It is. I’ve never said it wasn’t. But you are going to feel their pain all the more for it. Every citizen in need is going to pull at you and your heart,” she laid her hand on his chest, “will bleed a little more each time they come to you and it will make it hard for you to sleep and it will make it hard for you to make decisions, and one day it will kill you.”

“I can live with that. I’m supposed to give my life for my kingdom. You’re right. I care too much. But I won’t stop just to save myself a little sleep and heartache.”

Scylla smiled and pulled back her hand. “I think you will be a good king.”

“Thanks. So Cotillion is over and I think Mal is going to take a break from Court Training now that she’s a lady so I’ll see you Wednesday for study group?”

“See you then.”

He got dressed and headed for his dorm.


	8. Chapter 8

Ben did bring up the idea of pardons at the next council meeting, but his father shot it down immediately and forbade discussion. Ben pulled him aside after the meeting and asked him why and got the same rote answer he’d heard his whole life. 

“Why did you revive the Villains?” Ben asked.

King Beast looked puzzled. “So we could imprison them.”

“They were already dead, Dad. Why would you want to punish dead people? And why did you ban magic? No one hurt you with it.”

“My entire castle was enchanted for ten years-”

“Because you were a selfish brat! Because you had no love in your heart. You weren’t kind to strangers, and it lasted ten years because you saw your servants as things. If you’d had any kind of love for anyone, it wouldn’t have lasted as long as it did. And trying to punish the enchantress for your failure hurts a lot more people.”

“Those Isle children put these ideas in your head. This is what happens when you let villains off the island. They poison minds and turn children against their parents.”

“No, Dad. I’ve actually been thinking about this a long time. And I don’t think it’s right that one man’s fears and insecurities should hurt so many. You thought I was ready to be king, so I’m going to rule the best I can, and that means doing good for my people. I’ll see you at the next meeting.”

 

* * *

 

He worked with Scylla on his proposal for many long nights. Mal tried to be supportive and help, but without her spellbook to help her absorb knowledge, the law books were tedious and dry and she either fell asleep or left, unnoticed.

At the next meeting, King Ben announced his proposal to license magic users and issue permits for enchanted items. Magic would no longer be forbidden, it would be regulated. A magic academy would be created to provide a safe place for those with the talents to learn and practice magic. King Beast tried to veto the motion on the grounds that it put all of Arcadia at risk, but the representatives from the other kingdoms were interested and wanted to hear more. So King Ben moved forward with his plan with his kingdom and not long after, the other kingdoms adopted similar practices.


	9. Chapter 9

Just before finals, Scylla was summoned to Fairy Godmother’s office. King Ben was there, asking what was going on. “I think I’ve found a solution to this situation.” Fairy Godmother finished with a few buttons on a laptop and turned it around to reveal King Triton.

Scylla and Ben bowed in their seats to him. 

“Poseidon, you look just like your mother.” Triton leaned close to the camera.

“Hello, Uncle Triton.”

Ben shot her a surprised look.

Fairy Godmother spoke up. “I have found at least part of the reason why Scylla tested positive for royal blood. The other kingdoms stripped their villains of their status when they were exiled. By some oversight, Ursula was never officially disowned by King Triton. All we need is for you to fix that, and we can get Scylla moved into the VK dorm by the end of the day.

“Absolutely not.” Triton crossed his arms.

“Excuse me, but it sounded like you said, ‘no.’”

“When I banished my sister, I didn’t disown her because, for all her faults, she was still family. And when she was brought back to life and exiled, there was no need to disown her. And now I learn that I have a niece. If the only gift I can give her is a family to belong to, how can you ask me to take that away?”

Scylla took a long breath to keep some tears from falling and smiled at her uncle. “I also have a half-sister, Uma. She takes after her father a bit more than I do.”

“And I expect her to be taken from that Island and given royal status as well.”

Fairy Godmother grumbled, “Well this did not go the way I expected at all.”

“Scylla, I give my granddaughters a little something to help with expenses during the year. Expect the same to arrive for you soon. And I hope I can count on you to spend some of your holidays in my kingdom?”

“Try to stop me.”

“That’s my girl. Are we done here?”

“Yes, that’s all.” Fairy Godmother ended the video stream and dismissed them.

“Hey, I’m happy for you,” Ben said.

“Thanks.”

“So… you knew you had family this whole time? Melody and your other cousins are on campus.”

“It’s not widely known that my Mom was a princess. Melody might not even know. I didn’t know how he’d react when he found out. I’ve had nightmares of how bad this could have gone.” She lifted her hands and saw they were shaking. Ben took them in his.

“It worked out. Your family is huge. Ariel had six sisters and it’s like there was a competition on who could have more children.”

“Birth control is difficult under the sea.”

“More than I needed to know.” He let go of her hands and they walked down the hallway. “Do you know who your dad is?”

“I have a few theories. Nothing for sure.”

“We could do some blood tests. That’s not even magical. All science.”

Scylla shrugged. “Mom had her reasons for keeping it a secret. If everyone else on the Isle was stripped of their royal status, then he couldn’t have been a villain. And if he was a prince or a king, I don’t think he’d appreciate knowing he has an illegitimate half octopus daughter.”

“Or he could be like Triton and be happy.”

“Once it’s out, it can’t be taken back. If I find out, I’d like it to be kept quiet. Hey, good luck with finals.”

“You too.”


	10. Chapter 10

Ben struggled through his finals and failed to pass several of them. His responsibilities kept him from attending classes and studying properly. He decided it was best if he dropped out and was educated by tutors. 

“This way I have more control over what I learn and the schedules are more flexible,” Ben was saying as he and Scylla sat at their table while the campus was buzzing with students packing for their summer vacation. “Who makes a kid a king at 16? I’d barely taken any advanced classes, I still don’t know what I’m doing… Were they trying to set me up for failure?”

“You can change that. Move the coronation age to 18, make a diploma from the Academy a pre-requisite for a ruler. Change your kingdom to a democracy and your kids might never be kings and make it a moot point.”

Ben laughed. “I can’t do that.”

Scylla shrugged. “Why not?” She pointed at Chad and Dopey loading up their respective cars. “Which of those two would you be more comfortable entrusting with a kingdom?”

Ben sighed. “That’s not fair.”

“Chad is going to rule one day. Hopefully in thirty years and for a week, but still. And Dopey would need to marry an heir. But he hasn’t been groomed for it. He’s attending this school as a sidekick. If you opened the Academy to anyone with an endorsement from their kingdom and let non-royals take royal courses, there could be a number of eligible rulers for your kingdom and you don’t have to worry about making babies or accidentally raising a tyrant. You’d have options. Especially if you made an Academy diploma a pre-requisite. Then you’d still have a little control over the minimum education.”

“You have the strangest thoughts.”

Scylla shrugged. “When you have to navigate eight different legal systems, it helps to think outside the box.”

“I’ll miss you next year. But I’ll still visit Mal and we can hang out.”

“Actually I’m not enrolling for next year.”

“But the Isle probation requires-”

“King Triton is going to request that my probation be transferred to his kingdom. I need to learn Atlantean law and a year there would be the best way to do that.”

“Is that your plan? Spend a year in each kingdom and learn their laws?”

Scylla nodded. “And maybe a little time in that Magic Academy after you get that started.”

“Let me know if you need any help getting into the other kingdoms. I can be a character witness or something.” He looked down at his hands. “Now I’m really going to miss you.”

“You’ll be so busy you won’t give me another thought.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek and lingered for just a moment. Ben turned, looked at her and tilted his mouth to meet hers. They both reached over to hold each other’s jaw and broke after five seconds to look into each other’s eyes, both a little scared.

“What does this mean?” he asked.

Scylla shook her head just a tiny bit and let go of him. “It’s just goodbye.” But her gaze went back to his lips and she turned away. Ben thought of Mal, thought of his responsibilities, thought of her plans, and realized that there was no way to pursue this. 

“Goodbye,” he said, and left without looking back. 

 

* * *

 

Three months later, a letter arrived for Scylla in Atlantis. She went to the communications room in the palace, a large room sealed and filled with filtered and recycled air. She shivered in the cold, to keep the electronics from overheating. She signed into a laptop and followed the instructions in the letter. 

Ben’s face appeared in the screen and he grinned. “Hey! How are you doing? You got my letter?”

Scylla held it up. “Yup. What’s so urgent?”

“Do you believe in True Love?”

Scylla blinked. “Um… hold on. You arranged all this just to ask me that?”

“You don’t have a cell phone and it wouldn’t work underwater anyway and this was the only way to reach you.”

“I thought you said True Love’s Kiss saved you from Uma’s spell. Isn’t that proof?”

“I did. It did.” Ben looked pensive.

Scylla asked him gently, “Do you believe in True Love?”

He bit his lip. “I think so?”

“What happened?” 

“So, I was dating Audrey for a while, and I liked her, but I stopped liking her when I realized how little we have in common. But then I met Mal, and I really liked her, and she liked me back and she wasn’t as evil as she thought, and I love her, I really do, and she loves me back and her kiss broke the spell, so that means we’re meant to be together, right?”

“What’s the problem?”

“I can’t stop thinking about you and what might have happened between us if things were different, and I shouldn’t feel like this if I found True Love, right?”

Scylla took the information in stride. “I’m going to tell you something my mom told me. There is a big difference between attraction and love. It doesn’t mean anything that you’re attracted to other girls besides Mal. It means you have a type and she’s not the only girl that fits that type. Love is work. It’s fighting and saying sorry and forgiving and compromising and it’s not sexy at all. Love is when you keep going when it’s hard. Mal ran away and you went after her. You were kidnapped and Mal saved you. You were under a spell and Mal saved you and then you stopped a fight between two giant monsters because she might get hurt. I think it’s very obvious you love each other. And if it helps, there’s many kinds of love. There’s friendship love and romantic love and family love and it’s okay to have more than one in your life.”

“So this, what we have, is friendship love?”

“Mixed with a few hormones, but yeah.”

“And I have True Love with Mal and that means we’re meant to be together forever?”

Scylla couldn’t say what was on her mind. She settled for, “If that’s what True Love is for you.”

 

* * *

 

 

It wasn’t until they ended the conversation Ben was heading back to his rooms that he realized that she had never actually admitted to believing in True Love. But this wasn’t the beginning or the end of the matter.

He had talked to his parents about True Love, leaving out the identity of the “other woman” and their responses had been predictable. His mother told him to follow his heart. His father nodded blandly and later pulled him aside to remind him that he was also a king and had responsibilities to his citizens. His father justified marrying Belle by saying that she was the smartest woman with the kindest heart and if she hadn’t been so easily groomed for the throne, he might have let her go.

Ben knew that Mal balanced him, but Scylla challenged him. Mal had proven herself already time and again, but Scylla was brutally honest and he trusted her.

He called Fairy Godmother to his castle for an audience and spent a long day discussing the subject with her. Some of what she said echoed Scylla’s words, but what freed him was a story she (reluctantly) told of a woman who was enchanted twice in her life and True Love’s Kiss saved her both times. Each kiss had been by a different person.

“So True Love between two people doesn’t mean they’re soul mates.”

Fairy Godmother knew the pain she’d unleash upon that poor girl she’d come to admire and love, but she looked up at her liege and knew that this was a decision he had to make of his own free will. “No, it doesn’t. But it does prove a strong bond that shouldn’t be taken lightly.”

“Thank you, Fairy Godmother.”


	11. Chapter 11

He started dating. He lost his virginity to Ally. Who had lost hers to Jay. Mal found comfort with Evie, and Dopey was surprisingly okay with polyamory. Uma heard about being related to Triton and used Ursula’s shell to transform into a normal sized half squid and visit. She was treated as royalty and abused her position for a hectic month and grew bored. Triton coaxed her into enrolling in Auradon Academy and beginning her probation, pointing out that after the probation, she could travel anywhere.

King Ben managed to begin pardoning VKs who successfully completed their probationary period of two years without criminal activity and felt a small twinge when he signed off on Scylla’s. By then she had been accepted to stay in Westerly with her cousin Queen Ariel and learn their laws. The Magic Academy was still being built and enchanters were being graded and licensed and teachers were still being found for when it opened in two years.

And beside a spare thought here and there, he did become too busy to think about Scylla. 

On the 29th Freedom Day, a holiday still observed to remember the day the Isle of the Lost was created and the barrier put down on the Villains, King Ben had a meeting with a representative of the Villains. He was twenty five and most of the eligible women in the kingdoms were married off or in serious relationships.

He was surprised and delighted to see a tall blue woman with white punk hair walk into his office. “Scylla?” he rose from his chair and went to hug her. “What happened to your tentacles?”

She held up a shell bracelet. “I have a permit for it. Non-weaponized enchantment for personal use. And I’m a Class D hedge-witch.”

Ben sat on the edge of his desk. “That’s great! But I remember you were so proud of your tentacles.”

Scylla shrugged one shoulder. “Legs are a lot more convenient on land. People don’t appreciate how much water goes into staying hydrated and I was not popular with the cleaning staff anywhere I went. It’s a compromise and I especially enjoy the time I can take it off in private.”

“So you’re representing the Villains, huh? Coming to see me on Freedom Day, I wonder what this is about…” he teased.

Scylla opened her satchel and handed Ben a large envelope. “Please find enclosed a petition of several named individuals currently serving time on the Isle of the Lost, wherein we request their crimes and subsequent punishments be reviewed by a legal court in the aim to determine a specified end date to their sentences and release those who have paid that debt to society.”

Ben pulled out a sheaf with a list of names. “If these were Auradon villains, I could help you. But since they come from every kingdom…”

“Your father will judge the High Court. I know. But the Isle is part of your kingdom and so the petition goes through you. We have to try.”

“It won’t be impartial.”

Scylla nodded. “The nature of the situation makes impartiality impossible. But with enough pressure, maybe your father will listen. And even if we don’t win, the exposure of their living conditions might be enough to get the Isle cleaned up and minimum standards set. We don’t need to free everyone to have this be successful.”

“I’ll do what I can to help.” He set the envelope on his desk and gestured at her. “You look great! How have you been?”

“It’s been pretty cool. I’ve seen almost everything you can south of the Wall, and I’m pretty confident in my studies. How about you?”

“Well, when you walk in here with your dreams ready to come true, I feel like a failure. You have your to-do list but then there’s a fire on the pier and a plague and a blight and things get pushed aside…” Scylla nodded, understandingly. “But I did get the Magic Academy up.”

“That was pretty impressive. I did some of my studies there but I was certified in North Riding. Their hedge witch curriculum was a little more complete.”

“A failure again,” Ben pretended to stab himself in the heart.

Scylla smiled at him. “It’s good to see you.”

“Do you have plans? Once a month I let myself just reschedule a day. Let’s go somewhere and eat.”

“I actually do have some plans. But I could meet you later. Back here at seven?”

“It’s a date.” 

They both hesitated and then made nervous laughter. But she looked back at him as she left, and he felt it was a good enough sign to cancel the rest of his day and plan a romantic evening. If there was one thing Ben was good at, it was romance.


	12. Chapter 12

“So what restaurants are around here?” Scylla asked as they walked out of the castle. 

“We’re not going to a restaurant.” Five motorcycles rolled up and the driver of the center one hopped off and handed them helmets. Ben helped Scylla with her helmet. “I’ve upgraded from the old scooter.”

“I can see that. Are they coming with us?” Scylla pointed at the other four motorcycles.

Ben nodded. “I am the King, but they’ll just be there for the escort. Our final location has been secured already.”

“Great,” Scylla said, flatly and climbed onto the back of the motorcycle.

In less than an hour, they rolled up to the entrance to the Enchanted Lake. And Scylla remembered it was where he took Mal for the first time. She didn’t want to embarrass him in case he forgot so she didn’t say anything as he led her through the trails and across the rope bridge to the pavilion. A picnic had been laid out, but the food was still in a cooler. 

“Lovely,” Scylla said, meaning it. 

“Do you know where we are?”

“I’ve heard about the Enchanted Lake.”

“So be careful that doesn’t get wet or we’ll have a hard time getting back,” he said, pointing to her enchanted bracelet.

Scylla clapped her hand over it, protectively.

“I want to show you something,” and he led her to a pillar. She didn’t see anything and he stopped. “Did you know I’ve been enchanted three times? Four, if you count my afternoon with Uma.”

“I did not know that.”

“The first time, Mal fed me a love cookie. And on our first date, I took her here and it washed off. But then we broke up and I like this place, so I kept using it for dates and by coming here, I discovered the other two enchantments, so it’s just become a safe starting point in my relationships.” He brought her to the other side of the pillar and she saw it was carved with many names, the top carvings being “B+A 4ever” crossed out and “B+M” next to it. There were a few more “B+” but after a while it just became a list of female names. 

“I found this a year ago when I stopped managing to get second dates. I guess they didn’t like the reminder that they weren’t the first.”

“It’s a very impressive list.”

“I’m not trying to brag. I remember how we used to be: no secrets, we trusted each other…” he slid an arm around her waist and said, “I’d like to pick up where we left off.” He leaned in and Scylla pushed away on his chest. 

“Ben, I’ve always had secrets from you. I still have secrets. I think you’re romanticizing the past.”

“Would any of your secrets hurt me?”

“I mean, not physically, maybe, but you’re so sensitive-”

“I trust you. And you trust me, don’t you?”

“Trust is a good start, but- besides it wouldn’t be ethical with the law suit going on.”

“But I’m on your side! My dad is the one judging! If it were up to me, I’d pardon the whole island!” He saw her look and added, “and only a little bit because I love you.”

“Love?” Scylla pulled away. “Look, Ben, we were good friends but that was a long time ago and we were kids. We’ve changed and grown and I think you’re just lonely. Find another first date place and, I don’t know, take a canteen of Enchanted Water with you to drink from.”

“No, wait.” Ben raised his hand to stop her from walking away. “I’m not romanticizing. We had something. Do you remember our kiss? I do. It haunted me while I was dating Mal. It’s haunted me through every girl I’ve dated. We had something and we chose to go our separate ways for good reasons but there’s no reason why we shouldn’t try it now. Unless you don’t have feelings for me.”

“It’s not that. Of course I have feelings for you. You were one of the best friends I’ve ever had. I’m just trying to be practical.”

Ben stepped closer. “We’ve been practical for nine years. Let’s give this a shot.”

“I don’t have the best history with dating. I don’t have a pillar of conquests.” Ben was quiet, waiting for her to finish. “There were a couple merfolk that first year but it turned out they were using me. And on land no one showed any interest until I got legs. And even then, they’d ask why I didn’t change my skin color or my hair. Or they’d ask if there was a way to make it permanent because they didn’t like the idea of my tentacles coming out suddenly. I don’t want to have false hope that this is going to work out.”

“Those people were all idiots. When I think about you, your tentacles are as much a part of you as-” his eyes drifted to her breasts, her shoulders, her mouth and settled on her eyes. “Your eyes. I love all of you, including your tentacles.” He took her hand and took hold of the bracelet. “Can I take it off?”

Scylla held her breath and nodded. He slid it off her wrist and set it on the pavilion as her legs divided and she sank down onto her tentacles. He sat down next to her and placed a hand on a thigh-section of one and leaned in. 

“I think you’re perfect, just like this.”

A single tear fell from Scylla’s eye as she leaned in and kissed him. She tried to keep her tentacles still and only hold him with her arms, but he reached out and pulled one up to his face. He kissed it and slid it around his neck, unbuttoned his shirt and put another on his chest. She touched him gently, sliding her extra arms across his skin, then let the suckers tug on him, just a little, to see how he’d react. His breath caught, but he seemed to be more aroused, not less. 

“Let me know if I hurt you,” she said before pulling him back in for a kiss and letting all of her arms wrap around him, twining around his legs, squeezing the curve of his butt, tugging on his back and chest. 

Their kisses intensified and Ben’s hands moved as much as hers did. He broke the kiss to put his hands on her corset, his eyes asking for permission. She hesitated, and then nodded. He kissed her mouth, her chin, her jaw, her throat, her clavicle, popping a hook with each one. When the last one opened and he cast it aside, his face was already in her cleavage. He wanted to attack her breasts, but took a moment to gather himself and gently massaged the right while he trailed his lips around the left, building anticipation for when he finally brushed the nipple and teased with his teeth and tongue. 

Scylla dug her fingers into his hair and squeezed his body tightly for a moment before releasing the pressure. 

Ben slid his right hand up one of the tentacles until he reached the mantle and then reached underneath it, feeling his way to the center. Scylla froze and he stopped. “We don’t have to,” he said. “We can just make out.”

“I mean, it seems silly to still be shy. I have you completely wrapped up and you’re obviously fine with it.” But her eyes held doubt. So Ben decided to be honest.

“It’s a new feeling.” He shifted his legs and torso and showed how little freedom he had. “I’m not used to being pinned down. And you’re strong. You could probably tear me apart if you really wanted to. And it’s a little scary, but I trust you. Whatever you’re comfortable with.”

“It is scary. But I trust you.” She leaned back and relaxed her hold on Ben. 

He kissed her mouth again for reassurance, and kissed a fresh trail down her body, this time continuing past her navel and down her mantle. He slid underneath it and her tentacles closed in around him, gently touching his body, not taking hold. He touched the inside, watching how the light penetrated the membrane and how he could see her blood vessels. The red mixed with the blue skin and gave the alcove a lavender tint. Near the center was a flat patch and what looked like her asshole. 

“Is this your vulva?” he asked, touching it.

“There’s a cover to keep sand out when I’m in the water. You need to get my blood going to get it open.” He massaged the inside of the mantle, and felt her tentacles writhe. Slowly, a slit appeared on one edge of the flat patch and withdrew, revealing dark blue lips wet with cum. He massaged the outer sides and she heaved a sigh.

The angle was a little difficult, but he got an idea and climbed out. She twisted her mantle closed behind him and said, “It’s a little weird, I know.”

“No, no, no.” He kissed her cheek and stripped down and hopped into the water. “It was going to be murder on my neck. Scoot to the edge.” He slapped the stone in front of him. He repositioned himself and found the cover half closed. He licked the edges and it opened back up and he switched between sucking on her lips to swirling his tongue around the inside to flicking and sucking her clit until she was sopping wet and thick. One of her tentacles wrapped around his penis and squeezed and pulled until he was hard. Two others wrapped around his shoulders and pulled him out. 

“I think I’m ready.” He reached out and helped her slide into the water and she immediately wrapped herself around him. He made sure he had good footing and she slid onto him. He focused on keeping his balance and she pulled herself up and down, occasionally swirling and changing pace. 

“Are you close?” she asked, her eyes squeezed shut.

“Go ahead. I’m right behind you.”

She shagged him hard, holding onto him tightly. He breathed hard, trying to keep it together until she finished. When she let out a gutteral groan and squeezed him so hard he worried about internal damage, he released. 

The first thing he said when they caught their breath was, “I’m sorry. I meant to finish outside.”

“It’s not the right time of my cycle anyway. We’re fine.”

They kissed each other lazily. 


	13. Chapter 13

“I don’t think you understand how happy I am right now.”

“It’s easy to be happy after what we just did.” Scylla disentangled herself and swam for the pavilion. Ben caught up before she climbed out and caught her arm. 

“I mean it. You’ve been on my mind since our first kiss. I’ve dated many women and none of them made me feel like I feel with you. I love everything about you. I love your body, your mind.” He touched her cheek. “I love you as my friend. I love you as a lawyer. I love your heart. You are good for me as a man but better for me as a king. With you as my Queen, my people will be happier and healthier than ever. You’ll have the power and resources to get your projects completed. We’ll get justice for the villains, I promise you.”

“Are you trying to bribe me?”

“I’m trying to reassure you. I have a lot of responsibility and marrying you would not be a selfish choice.”

Scylla shook her head. “Marriage.” She pulled herself up onto the pavilion and took a towel. “You’re ridiculous. We haven’t seen each other for almost a decade, we have a single romp and now you’re proposing.”

“It seems sudden, but it’s not. I’m serious.” He climbed out and sat next to her and kissed her shoulder. “I love you so much.”

“You don’t know me anymore. We’ve both changed.”

“If you’re the woman who came to me this morning with a petition to fairly benefit the villains, you’re the same woman I knew. The same woman who gave me the idea to start a Magic Academy and allow permits for magic users. You brought magic back to the world and de-villainized it.” He started kissing her neck and reached over to cup a breast. “What do you want? Tell me, and I’ll make it happen.”

Scylla wanted to lecture him on the privilege of his statement but his mouth and tongue and hands were distracting her. She decided to save the lecture for another day. “Shut up,” she said and pulled him into a kiss. He shifted her so he could reach under her mantle and slide two fingers inside. He bent over and sucked at her nipple until she was squirming and pulling at his hair. Then he took hold of her hips and entered her again. 

Her tentacles had hold of his legs, shoulders, and upper arms and held him tightly. It was difficult for him to move, but he liked the resistance. He worked up a sweat faster and felt his erection was earned. 

“Marry me,” he said, and she groaned. “Be my Queen. Have my babies. I want a hundred little octopus children crawling all over the palace. I want the nursery to be a giant aquarium.” Scylla started laughing. “I mean it. And if any have your talent, they’ll have the best education and we’ll flood the country with witches and wizards and lawyers. Marry me and we’ll turn the whole world on its head and fix its problems.”

Scylla loved the feel of him inside her. She loved the feel of his body under her hands and tentacles. She liked the idea of standing beside him and continuing to help the unfortunate. She liked the thought of standing in front of King Beast with a crown on her head and looking him in the eye. 

She looked at Ben, straining against her tentacles, red faced and puffing. But looking back at her with eyes full of love and hope. And she had an idea. She wrapped him tightly and used her other tentacles to drag him over to a column and pin him upright. Her tentacles stretched out around the column and held him tight. 

“Oh, yes,” Ben pulled but couldn’t move an inch. She felt him thicken a bit inside her. 

“You like this?”

“I have a monster inside me.” Ben was panting. “I’ve spent my life trying to stay calm and not accidentally hurt anyone. You have no idea how much I’m relieved that I don’t have to worry about that with you. You can match my strength. In fact,” he pushed again, “I think you’re stronger.”

“And you aren’t threatened by that?” She brushed his hair back from his forehead. 

“I love it. I love you.”

“You’ll make me Queen?” Scylla rolled her hips. 

“I will.”

“You’ll support my ideas?”

“I will.”

“You’ll defend me against your parents, other royals, the whole continent?”

“I’ll defend you against the world.”

Scylla gestured and a scroll appeared. “This is a contract of marriage. If,” she emphasized, “we are married, I will be your Queen, I will give you children, and help you rule. In return you will support me and defend me.”

“Let me sign it.”

Scylla pulled a pen from the air and signed at the bottom left against the column next to his face. “This isn’t a promise. Before we marry, we’re going to have an ample engagement where we’re going to give this a trial. You’re going to introduce me to your parents and the other royals and we’re going to see how the the petition goes. If you support me and defend me, I’ll marry you and fulfill my end.”

“I’ll do it. I’ll do anything you ask.”

“You’re a foolish boy.” She dropped the pen and contract and kissed him. Then she took hold of both his wrists and pulled him spreadeagle across the column and thrashed his pelvis until he came in a flood. She climbed down and let him go. He rubbed his wrists, which were dotted with red circles from her suckers and slid down the column to sit down. 

“Are you okay?” she asked. “Did I hurt you?”

He took a nearby tentacle and kissed it. “Not too much. I enjoyed every minute.” He leaned over and picked up the contract and pen.

“Don’t sign that.”

Ben read it through. “You wrote it carefully. It says “if we’re married.” I’m not signing away my life.” He signed next to Scylla and passed her the contract. “Will you come over for dinner tomorrow? I’ll introduce you to Mom and Dad and get the engagement started.”

“So soon? Are you sure?” 

“The sooner the better. Are you hungry? I did bring you here for a picnic.”

“Let me clean up first?”

“I’ll join you.”

They slid back into the water and rubbed each other down, kissing each other gently. Then they toweled each other off and dressed again. Scylla started to put her bracelet back on but Ben told her to wait until the last moment. They had fun feeding each other and Ben took a bite from each of the four morsels she held out at once. 

They started back to the motorcycle and halfway across the bridge he stopped her. “Something’s been bothering me,” he said. “I’ve told you a thousand times that I love you. Do you love me at all?”

“I told you we don’t know each other anymore. How can I say I love you when I haven’t seen you in nine years? I don’t love you right this minute, but I think it’s worth trying. If I don’t love you by the time of the wedding, I’ll tell you.”

“You’re one of my True Loves. I’ve waited nearly ten years for you, and I’ll wait another ten if I need to.”

“You’re a silly boy.”

“That I am.”

One of the guards was left and called the others, who joined on the road back to the city. They dropped her off at the Bed and Breakfast she was staying at, and when Ben returned home he made arrangements for a room to be made ready for her there.

In the morning he called his parents and made dinner plans before heading back to his office. Where the petition was still sitting on his desk. He sighed and thought of his father, Scylla, the dinner, and decided the best way to handle it was to take it personally to King Beast as soon as possible. Take care of most of the damage before dinner. 


	14. Chapter 14

“What is this?” King Beast opened the envelope while Ben sat down. “What?!” Ben didn’t see what exactly happened, but by the time he’d settled in his chair the pages were flying in the air. Ben sighed.

“Can you be calm for once in your life?” Ben was exasperated.

“How can you ask me to be calm when you give me a petition to let loose the worst of humanity! We should destroy that Isle once and for all.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“Perhaps I do. Better dead than a threat.”

“Then why did you resurrect them in the first place?!” Ben’s volume matched his father’s. “Most of them were dead and no longer a threat. Why would you bring them back?”

“I’m not discussing this with you.”

“I think you should. Because she’s right. It isn’t justice to lock them up and take away their magic and leave them in squalor forever. And not just them, you condemned their children and children’s children if I hadn’t started taking them out. You’re High King and the Villains and their children are part of your kingdom and you have a responsibility to them.”

“To them! They killed and manipulated and are nothing but… but… villains and their progeny are the same for growing in that atmosphere.”

“That isn’t fair. It’s true that some of the VKs I’ve taken out have behaved poorly-”

“That is an understatement.”

“But if you consider how many have become model citizens, there are a similar number of citizens who have behaved poorly. It was a VK who gave me the idea to permit magic. Wasn’t that good for all of us? It was a VK who told me about a Magic Academy.”

“Was it a VK who came up with this?” King Beast gestured at the pile of papers across his desk.

“It was. But if you had actually read the petition, you’d know it wasn’t asking for a blanket pardon. It was asking for the trial that none of them received. For a sentence none of them have, and the hope for release.”

“Well I can sentence them right now. Life in prison without magic. Like I said thirty years ago.”

“You may have said it, but you didn’t hold a trial and the sentence is unofficial. How can we claim to be a fair and legal league of kingdoms if we can’t have something as basic as a trial? Can you honestly say that every villain on that island, and their children, deserve to be there until they die?”

“That’s why I put them there!” King Beast roared.

“But why?” Ben roared back.

King Beast growled and sat back in his chair. “As a ruler of a realm, I should have told you before now. I’ve wondered when to do it. Get comfortable, it’s quite a tale.” Ben sat back and folded his hands.

“Gaston was dead, I was human, your mother had just married me. We were struggling to have a child, but so were several other royals. And then we heard of a prophecy that told of a great catastrophy that would destroy all the realms. The prophecy said it could be avoided and King Triton found a solution. But he didn’t have enough power to fuel the spell. And there weren’t enough witches and enchanters to maintain it. I don’t remember who had the idea, but we resurrected Maleficient and Ursula and all the dear departed villains who had magic that wouldn’t be missed.”

“Are you saying the shield on the Isle pulls the magic from the villains to fuel some spell to keep the world from ruin?”

“That is exactly what I’m saying. While we were resurrecting villains, some of the other royals wanted their enemies locked up so the island became a catch all. But we can’t let the public know the purpose for the island.” He picked up a few pages and glanced through some lists. “We can go through this charade and release the sidekicks but under no circumstances can any magical villains be released. In fact, to be safe, we should put Maleficent back in, lizard or not.”

“Mal won’t be happy about that.”

“As she is not about to be Queen, I honestly don’t care for Mal’s opinion.”

“Scylla won’t be happy, either.”

“You cannot discuss this with anyone who is not a ruling royal. To do so is treason. And since your girlfriend is the petitioner and you will be on the jury, you cannot see her until the trial is complete.”

Ben squinted at his father, not sure if that was real. “So we’ll be cancelling dinner tonight?”

“You’re certainly welcome to come over tonight, but it would be inappropriate for Scylla to come until after the hearing. But if it makes you feel better, the sooner we get this done the less chance of the public dwelling on it. I’ll contact the other jury members and let you know when the hearing is scheduled.”

“Thanks. I’ll call Scylla and let her know.”

“No contact. After the phone call, you can’t have any contact with her until after the hearing.”

 

* * *

 

Ben cancelled dinner with Scylla and told her he wouldn’t be able to contact her but reassured her that it seemed his father was eager to finish the hearing as soon as possible. Scylla didn’t seem very concerned. 

“I didn’t tell him about the engagement. But I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll see you at the hearing.”


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The hearing happens, Scylla presents the petition and the royal rulers Skype in and take the lists of villains, examples of precedents, and suggested sentences and come back with immediate release for the sidekicks, 30 year sentences for the nonmagical villains (to be released at the next Freedom Day) and life imprisonment for the magical villains. But they don’t say so, they just list out who gets what. And King Beast makes a point to say that the votes were unanimous.

Ben walked across the courtroom to Scylla, who had a flushed face and was packing up her documents. “Do you want to come over tonight for dinner? We can finally announce our engagement.”

“Unanimous, Ben? You didn’t even think it over, you just blindly followed the other royals?”

“I thought it over. We discussed it and they convinced me that this is appropriate.”

“What did they say?”

“I can’t talk about the discussion with a non-royal.”

“I’m royal.”

“A ruling royal.”

Scylla glared at him for a moment and finished packing. “I’ll be over at six to announce our engagement. But I’m busy until then so I’ll say goodbye.”

Ben wanted to ask for a kiss, but she was walking away.

 

* * *

 

 

Dinner did not go well. Belle thought Scylla handled it well, considering. Dating Mal had been a big surprise, and he’d dated a handful of VKs since then so it wasn’t a complete shock. King Beast was still very upset and roared. Scylla ignored the goings on and kept sipping her soup. 

“Don’t you think it’s a little sudden? When was your courtship?” Belle asked.

“We plan on having a long engagement and having the courtship then.” He smiled at Scylla and took her hand. “We’ve been in love since the Academy and she’s the best choice for me, as a man and a king. And before we’re married, you’ll be convinced, too.”

“And what will her first act as Queen be? To release all the villains?”

“She won’t have that authority. We all know that my realm houses the Isle but all the realms rule it. Unless she convinces all of you, she can’t release anyone.”

“But I have some very specific plans to improve their living conditions,” Scylla piped up.

“They’re imprisoned for treason. It’s not intended to be a day spa.”

“It doesn’t need to be a day spa to provide basic health care and social services. Especially since the Isle houses innocents. Do you know the rate of babies who survive to a year old? Because it’s nowhere near what it is on the mainland.”

“Babies are dying?” Belle was shocked.

“I’m sure the young lady is exaggerating to make her case.”

“Maybe I am. But you don’t know the real number because you don’t pay attention to the medical needs of the Isle. And without magic, they can’t even help themselves. How many doctors have you imprisoned in the past thirty years?”

“I have law abiding citizens to consider.”

“Then you won’t mind if I consider the forgotten citizens.”

The rest of the dinner was tense but quiet. 


	16. Chapter 16

King Beast invited Ben back to the High Castle.

“I’m not staying if you’re just going to badmouth Scylla.”

“I need to show you something.” He led Ben to a secret room with a mirror. “Mirror, mirror at the close, show when Ben proposed.”

And the mirror showed Ben and Scylla at the Enchanted Lake. “Dad! Stop!”

“After you announced your engagement, I used the mirror to make sure you weren’t under some spell again. Considering you proposed while in the Enchanted Lake, I doubt it. And as uncomfortable as this is, I want you to watch and tell me what you see.”

Red faced, Ben watched himself and Scylla make love. “I’m having sex with Scylla.”

“I see an infatuated young man having sex with a scheming young villain.”

“She hasn’t done anything wrong.”

“Yet. I had the mirror show me what was on that contract.”

“She didn’t even want me to sign it.”

“She may have said that, but I see the only heir signing a marriage contract.”

“She’s resisted me every step of the way.”

“Then either she is trying to draw you in by pretending to resist, or she genuinely doesn’t love you. Can you see how either way this is a bad match?”

“Scylla wanted the courtship that Mother suggested. I didn’t see the point and the compromise is the long engagement. I won’t marry her if I don’t think she loves me.”

“I’m sure she can manage to be convincing enough when the time comes. If you won’t be swayed…”

Ben shook his head.

“...then I’m going to help you make her love you.”

“What? Why?”

“Because that” he pointed to the image of Scylla shaking her head while they talked and dressed in the mirror, “is not a woman who loves and obeys her king. And it is in my best interest that the wife of my son does both.”

King Beast picked up a remote and rewinded to the beginning of the sex. 

“What are you doing?”

“Helping your technique.”

“What! Dad, I can’t have this conversation with you. And I really can’t watch this with you.”

“If you’re going to have a sexual relationship with someone, it’s important to know what you’re doing. Scylla has strong tentacles, so I’m glad you don’t have to worry about going beast and hurting her. That is the main source of my intimacy problems with your mother. Do you see how throughout your love making, Scylla is engaged and fully participating?”

“And how is that bad?”

“It means her mind is in her body. If you want to make her love you and make her devoted, you need to take control at least twice a month and perform to the point where all she can do is react. Now you started off strong.”

King Beast went through the show, praising, giving tips, and especially describing the Ultimate Lovemaking that would make Scylla fall in love with him. It was uncomfortable in the beginning, but slowly Ben got comfortable enough to engage in the conversation. He felt uncomfortable using the technique, thinking it was manipulative.

King Beast clapped him on the shoulder. “If it makes you uncomfortable, do it once and let the devotion fade. But you’ll at least see what I mean.”


	17. Chapter 17

Scylla was blindfolded and led through the hallway of Ben’s castle. “Okay, here we are.” he took off the blindfold and opened the door. A barrier kept the wall of water from flooding into the hallway. The walls and floor had been sealed to be waterproof and flooded. Ben slid the bracelet off Scylla’s wrist and stripped down to his boxers and walked in. 

Scylla followed him and was distracted by the sunken furniture and waterproof lights. She didn’t see Ben sitting in a chair, pretending to read a book until almost a full minute passed. She grabbed his wrist and started to pull him back to the door but he shook his head and pointed to a necklace around his neck.

“Blue Fairy enchanted it so I can breathe underwater.”

Scylla smiled and let him give her a tour of the suite. “This is more impressive than a salt bath,” she said. 

“Do you like it?”

“I love it.” She kissed him and he pulled her close. She warmed to him and pulled him toward the bed. Thinking of his father, though immediately trying to banish him, Ben began the foreplay with long kisses and gentle touch and waited for Scylla to escalate. When her tentacles started groping and her hands started getting a little rougher, he slowly undressed her and kept stroking and kissing her, making sure he was making contact with at least three places at once. 

“Condom?” Scylla asked, eyeing his boxers doubtfully. He reached across her to a nightstand and pulled one out of a drawer. 

“It comes fully furnished.” They both chuckled while he rolled it on. He took hold of a tentacle and her wrists and held them against the bed as he leaned into her, slowly but deeply. He watched her face for the right balance of speed, not so slow she lost interest, but not so fast that they’d be over in a minute. When she started arcing her back and closing her eyes, he pulled her wrists down so he could lean forward and kiss her mouth and neck and breasts. 

“Look at me,” he said. 

She tried. But his eyes were so full of love and trust and desire and worry that she couldn’t. 

“Please?” he asked. 

“I can’t if I’m going to orgasm. I have to concentrate, too. Come on,” she rolled over and leaned on her forearms. “We have other things to do today.”

Ben sighed and tried not to deflate. But he did like this position. He took firm hold of where her waist spread into her mantle and started thrusting. He kept in mind to also go deep, not just fast. “Are you ready?” he asked, getting close. 

“Go for it, baby.”

Lost in the sensation, his only awareness of a problem with the condom was a moment where he thought everything felt amazing just before he came. 

He pulled out and rolled onto the bed to catch his breath. Then he looked down and saw his cum trailing through the water and the broken condom. He covered his face and tried not to cry.

“What’s wrong?” she asked before she saw for herself. “It’s okay. It happens.” She held back the lecture and irritation when she saw how upset he was. 

“I wanted to cuddle!” Ben said. “You’re not going to want to cuddle with the guy who broke the freaking condom! You’re probably freaking out! You don’t want a baby, you don’t even want to marry me.”

She patted his shoulder, unable to deny it. Then she lay down next to him and pulled him into a hug. 

“You’re only doing this out of pity,” he said.

“I know. But you are being really hard on yourself. It’ll be fine. No matter what.”

“How is your cycle? What are the chances?”

“I mean, I asked you to wear one for a reason. I’d say, one in…” she calculated, “four.”

“I’ll marry you. I’ll marry you right this second. We can have a grand ceremony later but I’ll marry you right now.”

“Don’t worry about it. I still think our long engagement is for the best.”

“But what if you are pregnant?”

“I don’t think we should get married because of a baby. I think we have a lot of things to consider and to figure out before we get married. If I’m pregnant, I’ll be fine. Mother raised me by herself and I know you’ll take care of us no matter what happens.”

“Damn straight I will.” He leaned over and pressed his forehead to hers. “I love you so much.”

“I know you do.”

He looked at her, a little hurt, but he didn’t press it. 


End file.
